A 2023 Work in America Survey from the American Psychological Institute found that one in five workers work in a toxic working environment, and 22% of those surveyed said it affects their mental health.
Indeed, the times have shifted; as new generations join the workforce, the expectations placed upon employers have also evolved. No longer are people willing to work for employers who don’t value them as a person and see them as replaceable statistics who aren’t worthy of being treated with respect.
You only have to look on social media for anecdotal stories of businesses being forced to close due to employee walkouts and mass quitting.
Numerous factors can account for this phenomenon. Yet, if your workplace culture lacks harmony, rest assured that it contributes significantly to turnover rates, productivity levels, and even your business reputation.
Feel free to conduct a bit of research yourself on Glassdoor to gain insights into the perception current and former employees feel about various employers.
With this in mind, if you are looking to attract top talent and retain them, it is essential to address your company culture and make the necessary changes to remove any negativity – often beginning from the top of the organizational chart.
Evaluate Your Current Culture
After conducting your own research, it’s important to evaluate your current culture. To do this, consider the following questions:
- How does your workplace communicate and engage with each other?
- Are you perpetuating the cycle of toxicity?
- Is there an air of apathy, or are people unsure of what they need to be doing?
- Do you have a high staff turnover or high levels of absenteeism?
After asking questions such as these, pay attention to each team member and how they talk to each other, their communication, and the overall general vibe between people. This can reopen and give you a deeper insight into how people work together.
Get Feedback
You must listen directly to individuals, ensuring feedback is gathered from all. This process should maintain strict confidentiality and avoid using honest thoughts and sentiments expressed by individuals in a detrimental manner. Collate this feedback and look for patterns and behaviors that are falling below standards that you expect or are deemed unacceptable.
Keep in mind that people come to work to earn a living, to do something they enjoy, and having people or persons make things more complicated for them will impact their ability to do their job role.
Use this feedback to help you make the required changes and support a healthier working environment.
Reset Your Company Core Values
After collecting sufficient feedback, consider your company’s core values. Are you still working towards those core values? And do your employees feel the same?
Your company’s values should be carefully thought out and smart, covering how people act and how the business operates. These values should show what the company stands for and what each employee believes in. Everyone should care about these values and feel that they represent them and the kind of company they want to work for.
Fill Knowledge Gaps with Proper Development
Next is the proper development of your staff. If people are struggling with anything relating to their employment, then it is up to you as their employer to remove these obstacles. This can help them with their soft skills, such as listening and communication, to help them develop better workplace or customer relationships.
Furthermore, it can be enforcing a manual handling training program to reduce the number of workplace injuries and improve safety, or it can be giving everyone a skills update and refresher for their job role and helping them to perform better and feel more confident in their positions.
Take stock of where people are having issues and aim to resolve them to ensure a more cohesive and harmonious working environment with fewer mistakes and increased productivity.
Set A Timeline and Create A Plan
After coming to the realization of what changes need to occur to assist in improving your workplace culture, it is important to put a definite plan in place. In fact, Jim Rhon has some wonderful online seminars that will guide you through the process of creating a worthwhile plan.
Create and Measure Your SMART Goals
Finally, after spending time making the needed improvements for a better work culture, it’s important to keep track of progress by using SMART goals. SMART goals are a widely recognized framework used to set clear and achievable objectives in various contexts, such as personal development, business, education, and project management.
The term “SMART” is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. When doing this be sure to note any improvements, and identify things that aren’t working or need adjusting.
Showing employees you are serious about improving things for them will go a long way if they see you taking charge and working on this consistently, not just using it as a talking piece and then brushing it under the carpet.
Final Thoughts
In summary, it’s crucial for all businesses to prioritize enhancing their employee culture. Again, this is highlighted by a 2023 survey revealing the negative impact of work on mental health. Companies should focus on listening, treating people kindly, and having shared values. Learning and teamwork are important too. By showing concern, listening, and boosting skills, companies can create happier, improved workplaces.
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